A Morton Mains correspondent writes to the Southland News: "Quite a Chinese colony is springing up in the vicinity of Invercargill.
Lately several farmers in the Morton Mains and Edendale districts have shown a marked preference for the Celestials, and it is given out on good authority that some farmers intend to introduce Chinese labour into their milking sheds.
The experiment will be watched with interest as marking a new departure in the dairying industry."
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Wed, 10 Sep 2008 100 Years Ago
Quite a large number of Europeans attended the funeral of Tommy Ah Joe at Cromwell (says the Argus), and the ceremonies at the grave as carried out by the Chinese would rather astonish those not accustomed to the Chinese funeral rites.
During the burial the clothes of the deceased were burned, and food placed round the grave, and the Europeans were treated to a glass of spirits, and were also presented with two pennies.
During the burial the clothes of the deceased were burned, and food placed round the grave, and the Europeans were treated to a glass of spirits, and were also presented with two pennies.
Tue, 1 Sep 2009 100 Years Ago
Auckland: Speaking at the banquet given in his honour last night, the Chinese Consul (Mr Yung Liang Hwang) had some interesting remarks to make.
He did not know the meaning of the words "Yellow peril."
There would never be anything to fear from China.
All she wanted was fair play.
China had no aggressive ideas, and no desire to seize what was the bread and butter of other nations.
Did the cry of a yellow peril mean peril commercially? He did not think so.
As long as the Chinese merchants remained true to their traditions of honesty, impartiality, friendliness, and generousness she would never be a trouble to the world in this respect.
The term "Yellow peril" was one which he regarded as very unreasonable.
China was a moral country, and its motto was "A Country of Purity."
In regard to what had been said about the cost of living amongst the Chinese, he would remind them that as their civilisation advanced so the cost of living would advance.
China was making many mistakes, but she was gradually working her way through.
The people of China were at all times loyal and honest.
The Chinese in New Zealand were obedient to what the Mother Country had taught them - to be peaceful, honest, industrious, humble and kind.
That was what they were taught to do.
They did not contribute to the Mother Country as far as money was concerned, but they had that good sense of loyalty, and so it was through all parts of the world.
The Chinese had proved that there was nothing to fear in this cry of a yellow peril. . .
He did not know the meaning of the words "Yellow peril."
There would never be anything to fear from China.
All she wanted was fair play.
China had no aggressive ideas, and no desire to seize what was the bread and butter of other nations.
Did the cry of a yellow peril mean peril commercially? He did not think so.
As long as the Chinese merchants remained true to their traditions of honesty, impartiality, friendliness, and generousness she would never be a trouble to the world in this respect.
The term "Yellow peril" was one which he regarded as very unreasonable.
China was a moral country, and its motto was "A Country of Purity."
In regard to what had been said about the cost of living amongst the Chinese, he would remind them that as their civilisation advanced so the cost of living would advance.
China was making many mistakes, but she was gradually working her way through.
The people of China were at all times loyal and honest.
The Chinese in New Zealand were obedient to what the Mother Country had taught them - to be peaceful, honest, industrious, humble and kind.
That was what they were taught to do.
They did not contribute to the Mother Country as far as money was concerned, but they had that good sense of loyalty, and so it was through all parts of the world.
The Chinese had proved that there was nothing to fear in this cry of a yellow peril. . .
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 100 Years Ago
The Vincent County Council has written to the Otago Charitable Aid Board, as follows:
"With reference to the quarterly list of those in receipt of aid, this council would advise that the whole of the Chinese in this county be struck off the list, the council having reliable information that the sums received by them, in most instances, are being improperly used. Should renewed or fresh applications be received by the council on their behalf, this council will recommend that every applicant be received into the Benevolent Institution, and, failing to accept this, aid be withheld; the other names on the list are in order, and in this council's opinion should be renewed.''
A telegram of later date from the council read: "Considerable distress among Chinese owing to stoppage of supplies. County chairman suggests that you instruct storekeepers to continue supplies to end of May.''
The Aid Board members then questioned the board chairman's action in stopping supplies in line with the county's initial request.
Mr Mosley (Bruce County) pointed out that the Benevolent Institution Trustsees had declined an increase for Chinese in Bruce from 3s to 4s a week, but then took the Chinese into the institution at 6s 6d a week.
Therefore if they could get over the difficulty by keeping these Chinese where they were, they should not burden the country with their upkeep in the institution.
It was resolved that supplies be continued to Chinese in Vincent and that the finance committee should report on the whole matter.
"With reference to the quarterly list of those in receipt of aid, this council would advise that the whole of the Chinese in this county be struck off the list, the council having reliable information that the sums received by them, in most instances, are being improperly used. Should renewed or fresh applications be received by the council on their behalf, this council will recommend that every applicant be received into the Benevolent Institution, and, failing to accept this, aid be withheld; the other names on the list are in order, and in this council's opinion should be renewed.''
A telegram of later date from the council read: "Considerable distress among Chinese owing to stoppage of supplies. County chairman suggests that you instruct storekeepers to continue supplies to end of May.''
The Aid Board members then questioned the board chairman's action in stopping supplies in line with the county's initial request.
Mr Mosley (Bruce County) pointed out that the Benevolent Institution Trustsees had declined an increase for Chinese in Bruce from 3s to 4s a week, but then took the Chinese into the institution at 6s 6d a week.
Therefore if they could get over the difficulty by keeping these Chinese where they were, they should not burden the country with their upkeep in the institution.
It was resolved that supplies be continued to Chinese in Vincent and that the finance committee should report on the whole matter.
Tue, 1 Jul 2008 100 Years Ago
The Chinese Immigrants Restriction Act of last session, which has just received the Royal assent, provides that no Chinese shall land in New Zealand until it has been proved that he or she is able to read a printed passage of not less than 100 words of the English language selected at the discretion of the Collector of Customs or principal officer at the port of landing.
The right of appeal to a magistrate is provided.
Any master of a ship who lands or permits to land in the Dominion any Chinese who has not fulfilled the requirements of the act is liable to a penalty not exceeding 50.
The act will not apply to any teacher of the Christian religion duly accredited to the Minister of Internal Affairs.
The right of appeal to a magistrate is provided.
Any master of a ship who lands or permits to land in the Dominion any Chinese who has not fulfilled the requirements of the act is liable to a penalty not exceeding 50.
The act will not apply to any teacher of the Christian religion duly accredited to the Minister of Internal Affairs.
Sat, 19 Sep 2009 100 Years Ago
• Mr Yung Liang Hwang, Consul for China in the Dominion, arrived in Dunedin by the first express on Saturday, and was welcomed at the station by a number of countrymen.
Yesterday afternoon he spoke to 186 Chinese in the Chinese Church at Walker Street, and in the evening spoke at the Dunedin Central Mission.
The service in the afternoon was conducted by the Chinese missionary (the Rev. A. Don) and Mr F. L. Law.
The Consul, on rising to speak, was greeted by the whole congregation standing and saluting in Chinese style.
He said he would not preach a sermon to them, but would give them "a straight talk about practical Christianity", talking to them as his brothers and because he loved them, so that they should not take offence at what he would say.
He then asked his countrymen some very searching questions as to the reasons for their being despised and hated by Europeans, and gave them wholesome advice in detail regarding cleanliness, education, gambling, and opium-smoking.
The congregation took the address remarkably well, and when a vote was taken to request the Consul to prolong his stay so that a banquet could be tendered on Wednesday, every man rose and held up his hand.
The Consul, however, could not agree to extend his stay.
Yesterday afternoon he spoke to 186 Chinese in the Chinese Church at Walker Street, and in the evening spoke at the Dunedin Central Mission.
The service in the afternoon was conducted by the Chinese missionary (the Rev. A. Don) and Mr F. L. Law.
The Consul, on rising to speak, was greeted by the whole congregation standing and saluting in Chinese style.
He said he would not preach a sermon to them, but would give them "a straight talk about practical Christianity", talking to them as his brothers and because he loved them, so that they should not take offence at what he would say.
He then asked his countrymen some very searching questions as to the reasons for their being despised and hated by Europeans, and gave them wholesome advice in detail regarding cleanliness, education, gambling, and opium-smoking.
The congregation took the address remarkably well, and when a vote was taken to request the Consul to prolong his stay so that a banquet could be tendered on Wednesday, every man rose and held up his hand.
The Consul, however, could not agree to extend his stay.
Heritage trail a gold mine
By Glenn Conway on Sat, 5 Jul 2008
The Regions: Otago
Otago's mayors will this month be asked to embrace plans for a Chinese heritage trail that has the potential to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors into the region and provide a modern tourist gold mine.
Organisers of the proposed trail want to see it in place for the Lawrence 150th anniversary celebrations in 2011.
The trail would link the Chinese garden in Dunedin, the goldfields of Lawrence-Tuapeka and the Cromwell Mining Centre as key drawcards for visitors from China.
Exact details of the trail, how it would work, what it would include and the price tag have yet to be determined.
Dunedin historian Dr Jim Ng, who is also behind plans to recreate the Lawrence Chinese camp, will present the gold trail concept to the Otago Forward meeting on July 18.
This group of Otago leaders will be asked to endorse the idea in principle so Dr Ng and others can prepare a feasibility study and detailed costings.
A paper on the concept, prepared by Morgan GR Tourism Management, said several factors suggested Otago had significant potential for Chinese tourism.
Those factors included the recent signing of a free-trade agreement between both countries, Dunedin's sister city relationship with Shanghai, the Chinese garden, and joint pushes by Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand into the Chinese market.
Talks with tourism heads suggest there was a dearth of "Chinese-specific tourism products" which could lead to the development of Chinese tourism to New Zealand over the next decade.
"The conjunction of the Chinese history in Otago, current relationships between the Otago community and China, a milestone in the Lawrence sesquicentenary in 2011, the presence of New Zealand's leading tourism resort in Otago and the macro signals in the closer trading relationship between the two countries suggest the time is right for a [tourism] project to develop a Chinese heritage trail in the Otago region," the paper said.
The aim of the trail would be to provide a specific focus for the development of Chinese tourism to New Zealand, offer an economic return to the region and its communities, and enhance the identification, protection and interpretation of Chinese history in the region, it said.
The first three steps involve presenting the proposal, a feasibility study and then implementing the trail.
The Regions: Otago
Otago's mayors will this month be asked to embrace plans for a Chinese heritage trail that has the potential to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors into the region and provide a modern tourist gold mine.
Organisers of the proposed trail want to see it in place for the Lawrence 150th anniversary celebrations in 2011.
The trail would link the Chinese garden in Dunedin, the goldfields of Lawrence-Tuapeka and the Cromwell Mining Centre as key drawcards for visitors from China.
Exact details of the trail, how it would work, what it would include and the price tag have yet to be determined.
Dunedin historian Dr Jim Ng, who is also behind plans to recreate the Lawrence Chinese camp, will present the gold trail concept to the Otago Forward meeting on July 18.
This group of Otago leaders will be asked to endorse the idea in principle so Dr Ng and others can prepare a feasibility study and detailed costings.
A paper on the concept, prepared by Morgan GR Tourism Management, said several factors suggested Otago had significant potential for Chinese tourism.
Those factors included the recent signing of a free-trade agreement between both countries, Dunedin's sister city relationship with Shanghai, the Chinese garden, and joint pushes by Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand into the Chinese market.
Talks with tourism heads suggest there was a dearth of "Chinese-specific tourism products" which could lead to the development of Chinese tourism to New Zealand over the next decade.
"The conjunction of the Chinese history in Otago, current relationships between the Otago community and China, a milestone in the Lawrence sesquicentenary in 2011, the presence of New Zealand's leading tourism resort in Otago and the macro signals in the closer trading relationship between the two countries suggest the time is right for a [tourism] project to develop a Chinese heritage trail in the Otago region," the paper said.
The aim of the trail would be to provide a specific focus for the development of Chinese tourism to New Zealand, offer an economic return to the region and its communities, and enhance the identification, protection and interpretation of Chinese history in the region, it said.
The first three steps involve presenting the proposal, a feasibility study and then implementing the trail.
Clark pays tribute to Chinese at garden blessing
Home » News » Dunedin
By Dene Mackenzie on Tue, 10 Jun 2008
News: Dunedin
The Prime Minister , Helen Clark, is followed by Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin on a tour of the Dunedin Chinese Garden today. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Prime Minister Helen Clark today attended the blessing of the $7 million Dunedin Chinese Garden and paid tribute to the work that had been carried out to bring the project to fruition.
The Chinese had a long history in the province after they trekked into Central Otago in search of gold. Some had returned to set up businesses in Dunedin or start their market gardens.
Their important contribution to the region had been recognised through the new gardens, she said.
Also attending the blessing, carried out by the Anglican Bishop of Dunedin, George Connor, were Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, the Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, Zhang Yuanyuan,
Madame Wang, representing the Shanghai Museum, Chinese Gardens Trust deputy chairman Peter Sew Hoy and trust secretary-treasurer Malcolm Wong.
The blessing started with the lighting of traditional Chinese Crackers.
By Dene Mackenzie on Tue, 10 Jun 2008
News: Dunedin
The Prime Minister , Helen Clark, is followed by Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin on a tour of the Dunedin Chinese Garden today. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Prime Minister Helen Clark today attended the blessing of the $7 million Dunedin Chinese Garden and paid tribute to the work that had been carried out to bring the project to fruition.
The Chinese had a long history in the province after they trekked into Central Otago in search of gold. Some had returned to set up businesses in Dunedin or start their market gardens.
Their important contribution to the region had been recognised through the new gardens, she said.
Also attending the blessing, carried out by the Anglican Bishop of Dunedin, George Connor, were Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, the Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, Zhang Yuanyuan,
Madame Wang, representing the Shanghai Museum, Chinese Gardens Trust deputy chairman Peter Sew Hoy and trust secretary-treasurer Malcolm Wong.
The blessing started with the lighting of traditional Chinese Crackers.
Chinese garden is in Oamaru's Public Gardens
Sat, 12 Apr 2008
, Yvonne Cox, who found a way of celebrating the Chinese community.
Dunedin's authentic ‘‘scholar-official'' Chinese garden, Lan Yuan, is getting its final polish before opening next month.
It is the newest in a series of Chinese-style gardens throughout New Zealand. All except one celebrate sister-city friendships.
New Zealand's first Chinese garden is in Oamaru's Public Gardens. It is a symbol of the friendship between Oamaru and the large Chinese community in the Waitaki district, most of them descendants of the Central Otago gold miners.
The creation of this garden in 1988 is an inspiring, little-known story.
Right from the start, the catalyst for the garden's creation, and still working on its development, is an extraordinary Oamaru woman.
Yvonne Cox is 86, a tall, stylish and handsome woman. She has worked 38 years as promotions consultant for the Otago Daily Times in Oamaru and continues to go to her office.
In the 1980s, her husband was a public accountant working from home. Some of his clients were local Chinese; they would bring gifts of vegetables for Mrs Cox.
She found herself thinking about the big community of Chinese market gardeners at Totara, just south of Oamaru.
‘‘I was aware of three generations of Chinese in the district, and I wondered why these people had never been recognised within the community.
‘‘I thought, there will come a day when the sons and daughters of these market gardeners will all be educated professionals, and we won't have a Chinese settlement there any more. Somebody needs do something about it.''
That somebody, not surprisingly, was Mrs Cox. In 1987, she spoke to Jimmy Kong, a leader in the Chinese community at that time, regarding an idea she had.
He, in turn, called a meeting in the Totara School hall. About 40 Chinese men attended, ‘‘with two women in the kitchen making tea''.
Mrs Cox spoke of her idea, thinking a weekend festival might be an appropriate celebration, ‘‘but I needed to have the support of the Chinese community so that I could ask for advice as to what was culturally acceptable''.
Two weeks later, representatives of the Chinese community came to her with a proposal for opening night: they would provide a Chinese chef and a team of young people dressed in black and white to work as waiters.
They envisaged a 10-course banquet for 400 people at $40 a head to be held in the new recreation centre in Oamaru.
Three days later, with not a single advertisement, all the tickets had been sold. Half the profits went to the Totara School for equipment and the other half was held in trust by the Waitaki District Council; there were already ideas for a celebration garden.
‘‘What was to be the Whitestone Chinese Festival weekend in May 1988 turned out to be a nine-day event, and it paid for itself,'' Mrs Cox said. ‘‘People from all over the South Island brought ideas and artefacts - a man came from Central with articles from the Chinese huts in the gold fields; they were on display in the Brydone Hotel.''
In the two years after Mrs Cox first approached the Chinese community, three Chinese came on to the 1990 sesquicentennial celebration committee.
‘‘Never had there been a single Chinese person on any public committee in Waitaki. They simply said they had never been invited.''
In 1990, the Waitaki district offered 53 sesquicentennial festival events, the largest number for a town of its size in New Zealand. Mrs Cox suggested a Chinese festival, and again the Chinese Association offered another $40 banquet for another huge sellout crowd.
Once more, money went back to the Totara School, but this time half the profits were added to the previous trust fund to make a beginning on a commemorative Chinese garden.
A local architect, Bruce Parker, was consulted, as was New Zealand Chinese historian Dr James Ng, in Dunedin.
Graeme Hall, then parks and reserves manager, visited the Chinese Friendship Garden in Sydney and came back enthused with ideas. The garden committee consisted of Mrs Cox, Waitaki Mayor Duncan Taylor, Mr Hall, and four Chinese from the Totara community: Wing Yee, Bill Lee, Martyn Tonkin, and Jim Kong.
The first step was designing a gateway and procuring appropriate roof tiles from China.
Immediately behind the entrance is a wall designed traditionally to deflect evil spirits, which, in Chinese lore, move only in straight lines.
‘‘In my mind,'' Mrs Cox said, ‘‘I could see a dragon on that 14ft wide, 7ft high wall, so I got in the car and drove to Dunedin, found the man at Otago University in charge of ceramics and asked if there was a Chinese ceramic artist in any of his classes. He burst out laughing and said no, he hadn't.''
Three weeks later, however, there was a fax on her desk recommending Christine Black, the previous year's ceramics honours student.
Mrs Cox sent her to Dr Ng, ‘‘for guidance as to the correct dragon''. Eventually the design and cost came in: not much short of $10,000.
‘‘So I got in my car again and went down to Nick Smith at the ODT. I said I would like to know if the company could sponsor this dragon. He said, ‘You give me one good reason why we should spend $10,000 on a Chinese dragon to go on a wall in Oamaru, the week we're buying a new printing press'.''
Mrs Cox had more than one good reason, and today the dragon can be seen at the entrance to the Chinese garden.
For the most part, the design for the garden has come from the local Chinese community. The first stage involved building the gateway and enlarging a small pond to create a little lake.
The excavated soil and truckloads of local boulders created the mountainscapes essential to any Chinese garden design.
Initial planting included bamboo, and the mature weeping willows by the lake, Salix babylonica, that had their origins in China.
The second stage involved expanding the lake and preparing the site for the final features, now in the planning stage: a tea house by the lake and an Oamaru stone wall to separate the Chinese garden from the 1960s Oriental garden beyond.
On November 18, 1995, at the completion of the first stage, the Chinese Garden was officially opened by Mr Huang Guifang, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China.
He planted a Chinese tree; Paulownia tomentosa is native to east Asia and known to the Chinese as the elephant tree.
In a nice coincidence, Mrs Cox's son Laurence now works in China. He came home for a visit late last year with his Chinese wife, Ming, and her mother came too.
Naturally, they visited the Chinese garden and immediately recognised the thriving elephant tree.
Mrs Cox's best Christmas present arrived on December 18, when her Chinese granddaughter, Davina Yvonne, was born in Dunedin.
That would make it just 20 years since her first move to salute the Chinese community in the Waitaki District.
, Yvonne Cox, who found a way of celebrating the Chinese community.
Dunedin's authentic ‘‘scholar-official'' Chinese garden, Lan Yuan, is getting its final polish before opening next month.
It is the newest in a series of Chinese-style gardens throughout New Zealand. All except one celebrate sister-city friendships.
New Zealand's first Chinese garden is in Oamaru's Public Gardens. It is a symbol of the friendship between Oamaru and the large Chinese community in the Waitaki district, most of them descendants of the Central Otago gold miners.
The creation of this garden in 1988 is an inspiring, little-known story.
Right from the start, the catalyst for the garden's creation, and still working on its development, is an extraordinary Oamaru woman.
Yvonne Cox is 86, a tall, stylish and handsome woman. She has worked 38 years as promotions consultant for the Otago Daily Times in Oamaru and continues to go to her office.
In the 1980s, her husband was a public accountant working from home. Some of his clients were local Chinese; they would bring gifts of vegetables for Mrs Cox.
She found herself thinking about the big community of Chinese market gardeners at Totara, just south of Oamaru.
‘‘I was aware of three generations of Chinese in the district, and I wondered why these people had never been recognised within the community.
‘‘I thought, there will come a day when the sons and daughters of these market gardeners will all be educated professionals, and we won't have a Chinese settlement there any more. Somebody needs do something about it.''
That somebody, not surprisingly, was Mrs Cox. In 1987, she spoke to Jimmy Kong, a leader in the Chinese community at that time, regarding an idea she had.
He, in turn, called a meeting in the Totara School hall. About 40 Chinese men attended, ‘‘with two women in the kitchen making tea''.
Mrs Cox spoke of her idea, thinking a weekend festival might be an appropriate celebration, ‘‘but I needed to have the support of the Chinese community so that I could ask for advice as to what was culturally acceptable''.
Two weeks later, representatives of the Chinese community came to her with a proposal for opening night: they would provide a Chinese chef and a team of young people dressed in black and white to work as waiters.
They envisaged a 10-course banquet for 400 people at $40 a head to be held in the new recreation centre in Oamaru.
Three days later, with not a single advertisement, all the tickets had been sold. Half the profits went to the Totara School for equipment and the other half was held in trust by the Waitaki District Council; there were already ideas for a celebration garden.
‘‘What was to be the Whitestone Chinese Festival weekend in May 1988 turned out to be a nine-day event, and it paid for itself,'' Mrs Cox said. ‘‘People from all over the South Island brought ideas and artefacts - a man came from Central with articles from the Chinese huts in the gold fields; they were on display in the Brydone Hotel.''
In the two years after Mrs Cox first approached the Chinese community, three Chinese came on to the 1990 sesquicentennial celebration committee.
‘‘Never had there been a single Chinese person on any public committee in Waitaki. They simply said they had never been invited.''
In 1990, the Waitaki district offered 53 sesquicentennial festival events, the largest number for a town of its size in New Zealand. Mrs Cox suggested a Chinese festival, and again the Chinese Association offered another $40 banquet for another huge sellout crowd.
Once more, money went back to the Totara School, but this time half the profits were added to the previous trust fund to make a beginning on a commemorative Chinese garden.
A local architect, Bruce Parker, was consulted, as was New Zealand Chinese historian Dr James Ng, in Dunedin.
Graeme Hall, then parks and reserves manager, visited the Chinese Friendship Garden in Sydney and came back enthused with ideas. The garden committee consisted of Mrs Cox, Waitaki Mayor Duncan Taylor, Mr Hall, and four Chinese from the Totara community: Wing Yee, Bill Lee, Martyn Tonkin, and Jim Kong.
The first step was designing a gateway and procuring appropriate roof tiles from China.
Immediately behind the entrance is a wall designed traditionally to deflect evil spirits, which, in Chinese lore, move only in straight lines.
‘‘In my mind,'' Mrs Cox said, ‘‘I could see a dragon on that 14ft wide, 7ft high wall, so I got in the car and drove to Dunedin, found the man at Otago University in charge of ceramics and asked if there was a Chinese ceramic artist in any of his classes. He burst out laughing and said no, he hadn't.''
Three weeks later, however, there was a fax on her desk recommending Christine Black, the previous year's ceramics honours student.
Mrs Cox sent her to Dr Ng, ‘‘for guidance as to the correct dragon''. Eventually the design and cost came in: not much short of $10,000.
‘‘So I got in my car again and went down to Nick Smith at the ODT. I said I would like to know if the company could sponsor this dragon. He said, ‘You give me one good reason why we should spend $10,000 on a Chinese dragon to go on a wall in Oamaru, the week we're buying a new printing press'.''
Mrs Cox had more than one good reason, and today the dragon can be seen at the entrance to the Chinese garden.
For the most part, the design for the garden has come from the local Chinese community. The first stage involved building the gateway and enlarging a small pond to create a little lake.
The excavated soil and truckloads of local boulders created the mountainscapes essential to any Chinese garden design.
Initial planting included bamboo, and the mature weeping willows by the lake, Salix babylonica, that had their origins in China.
The second stage involved expanding the lake and preparing the site for the final features, now in the planning stage: a tea house by the lake and an Oamaru stone wall to separate the Chinese garden from the 1960s Oriental garden beyond.
On November 18, 1995, at the completion of the first stage, the Chinese Garden was officially opened by Mr Huang Guifang, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China.
He planted a Chinese tree; Paulownia tomentosa is native to east Asia and known to the Chinese as the elephant tree.
In a nice coincidence, Mrs Cox's son Laurence now works in China. He came home for a visit late last year with his Chinese wife, Ming, and her mother came too.
Naturally, they visited the Chinese garden and immediately recognised the thriving elephant tree.
Mrs Cox's best Christmas present arrived on December 18, when her Chinese granddaughter, Davina Yvonne, was born in Dunedin.
That would make it just 20 years since her first move to salute the Chinese community in the Waitaki District.
AS THE EARTH TURNS SILVER
Masterpiece first novel by Wong
Gavin McLean reviews As the Earth Turns Silver.
AS THE EARTH TURNS SILVER
Alison Wong
Penguin, $37, hbk
Poet Alison Wong's first novel is quite simply a masterpiece.
The framework is deceptively simple, the story of three outsiders.
Two are Chinese vegetable sellers, the brothers Shun and Yung, drawn to the "New Gold Mountain", as they called New Zealand, to make their fortune, only to occupy the social and economic fringe of settler society.
The other, also an outsider, is white, but in pre-social welfare New Zealand sudden widowhood was enough to reduce people like Katherine McKechnie and her young children to poverty.
I won't surprise anyone by revealing that (a) Katherine falls in love with Yung and (b) that the star-crossed lovers' relationship is doomed to fail.
That predictable ending won't harm your enjoyment of the book.
In this novel Wong uses a deceptively conventional narrative form to explore racism, cross-cultural relationships and a woman's role in society, in new and satisfying ways.
A lesser writer might have made a heartfelt but predictable rant about all three.
Wong makes her points, but with a beguiling lightness of touch.
Subtlety, solid research and fine writing are her great strengths.
So, although Lionel Terry struts his stuff as the cardboard racist loner, converting Katherine's late husband, Wong shows the corrosive power of racism more tellingly through a few comments from Katherine's son.
There, you say, that's how it regenerates.
She also catches the city's racism in her description of wealthy Oriental Parade under moonlight.
"The most beautiful street in Wellington. The Chinese street where no Chinese lived."
Historical Wellington is the fourth "character" of the book.
Apart from one short chapter set in China to show the loved ones the brothers left behind, As the Earth Turns Silver is set in the early-20th-century "Empire City", centred on Haining St, the tiny Chinese enclave shunned by respectable Europeans, and in working class Newtown.
Some historical novels go overboard with period detail. Wong does not.
She's done her research, but brings the city's impoverished working-class suburbs alive convincingly without burying the plot and character development under a landslide of detail.
When Katherine and Yung make their clandestine night-time assignations, you can almost hear those new-fangled trams clanking their way around the Basin Reserve, but you don't lose track of what's going on between them.
Wong's greatest strength, though, is her writing style.
She can make peeling an onion profound: "She peeled the skins, held the naked onion in her hand. For a moment she saw a lopped-off globe with no continents or seas, a world that had lost its shape. And all its boundaries. Perhaps intelligence was not a blessing, More a test of character."
The book's final strength is its lyrical writing.
A wonderful book.
- Gavin McLean is a Wellington historian and reviewer.
Gavin McLean reviews As the Earth Turns Silver.
AS THE EARTH TURNS SILVER
Alison Wong
Penguin, $37, hbk
Poet Alison Wong's first novel is quite simply a masterpiece.
The framework is deceptively simple, the story of three outsiders.
Two are Chinese vegetable sellers, the brothers Shun and Yung, drawn to the "New Gold Mountain", as they called New Zealand, to make their fortune, only to occupy the social and economic fringe of settler society.
The other, also an outsider, is white, but in pre-social welfare New Zealand sudden widowhood was enough to reduce people like Katherine McKechnie and her young children to poverty.
I won't surprise anyone by revealing that (a) Katherine falls in love with Yung and (b) that the star-crossed lovers' relationship is doomed to fail.
That predictable ending won't harm your enjoyment of the book.
In this novel Wong uses a deceptively conventional narrative form to explore racism, cross-cultural relationships and a woman's role in society, in new and satisfying ways.
A lesser writer might have made a heartfelt but predictable rant about all three.
Wong makes her points, but with a beguiling lightness of touch.
Subtlety, solid research and fine writing are her great strengths.
So, although Lionel Terry struts his stuff as the cardboard racist loner, converting Katherine's late husband, Wong shows the corrosive power of racism more tellingly through a few comments from Katherine's son.
There, you say, that's how it regenerates.
She also catches the city's racism in her description of wealthy Oriental Parade under moonlight.
"The most beautiful street in Wellington. The Chinese street where no Chinese lived."
Historical Wellington is the fourth "character" of the book.
Apart from one short chapter set in China to show the loved ones the brothers left behind, As the Earth Turns Silver is set in the early-20th-century "Empire City", centred on Haining St, the tiny Chinese enclave shunned by respectable Europeans, and in working class Newtown.
Some historical novels go overboard with period detail. Wong does not.
She's done her research, but brings the city's impoverished working-class suburbs alive convincingly without burying the plot and character development under a landslide of detail.
When Katherine and Yung make their clandestine night-time assignations, you can almost hear those new-fangled trams clanking their way around the Basin Reserve, but you don't lose track of what's going on between them.
Wong's greatest strength, though, is her writing style.
She can make peeling an onion profound: "She peeled the skins, held the naked onion in her hand. For a moment she saw a lopped-off globe with no continents or seas, a world that had lost its shape. And all its boundaries. Perhaps intelligence was not a blessing, More a test of character."
The book's final strength is its lyrical writing.
A wonderful book.
- Gavin McLean is a Wellington historian and reviewer.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Lantern
Lantern is all about reflection, human nature and family, regardless of race or culture.
Set in present day Auckland, the play which kicks off on Monday follows the fictional Chen family.
But what gives this play its lustre, is that as the story unfolds whole audiences recognise not just facets of themselves, but also snippets of their own stories played out on stage.
Lantern’s writer is Remuera-based Renee Liang, who is a poet, a playwright, and – surprisingly – a paediatrician. She is also working on her first novel.
While medicine is her calling, writing is her passion.
She is one of the organisers of Poetry Live, Auckland’s long-running weekly poetry gig and admits that she is always trying to get more people to write and read poetry.
A member of the Guerilla poets – who etch words in chalk on Auckland pavements – she’s done everything from random poetry readings at bus stops to chairing the poetry session at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival.
Nor does she shy away from real things, and this trait contributes to her work’s fearless honesty and insights.
"I gave 18 years of my life solely to medicine, and then something happened. My partner died. I was in shock and couldn’t do anything for two days.
"What I eventually did though, was pick up a pen – and write a poem for him.
"And it was like that unleashed the floodgates. I wrote for about a year, poems to him," she says.
"Then one day, I was writing about other things. And then came the first love poem I wrote, that wasn’t for him, but was for my current partner.
"I believe very much that one thing leads to another, and with writing in particular that is the case. I’m still exploring fields, genres, formats – all the ways there are to express feelings, thoughts, ideas," she says.
She says her training in medicine has taught her to look at what’s beneath the surface, and that’s what she does in her writing.
"I’m curious about people and I let that show, and in their response to me, they give me insights into what’s really there, under all the surface stuff.
"What is really interesting is the disconnection that so many people feel, which has nothing to do with race or culture.
"Sometimes our isolation is what we actually share," she says.
Miss Liang has immersed herself in all aspects of play writing, a wide range of genres of artistic expression and collaborations and involvement in a dizzying variety of artistic groups from fringe festivals to Read Raw to Flip the Script, Smack Bang and other private collaborations.
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She says Lantern is at its heart, a play about family.
It involves two actors who play 10 characters over 85 minutes.
The actors are two of New Zealand’s best-known Chinese actors, Shortland Street’s Li-Ming Hu and Andy Wong from Ride with the Devil and No 2.
Audience members are invited to add their own poetry to a lantern installation in the foyer.
Lantern runs from Monday to June 13 at The Basement, lower Greys Ave, Auckland.
For ticket information go to www.the-edge.co.nz or call 357-3355.
Paediatrician's play all about the family
By KAREN KOTZE - East And Bays Courier
Last updated 05:00 05/06/2009
Set in present day Auckland, the play which kicks off on Monday follows the fictional Chen family.
But what gives this play its lustre, is that as the story unfolds whole audiences recognise not just facets of themselves, but also snippets of their own stories played out on stage.
Lantern’s writer is Remuera-based Renee Liang, who is a poet, a playwright, and – surprisingly – a paediatrician. She is also working on her first novel.
While medicine is her calling, writing is her passion.
She is one of the organisers of Poetry Live, Auckland’s long-running weekly poetry gig and admits that she is always trying to get more people to write and read poetry.
A member of the Guerilla poets – who etch words in chalk on Auckland pavements – she’s done everything from random poetry readings at bus stops to chairing the poetry session at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival.
Nor does she shy away from real things, and this trait contributes to her work’s fearless honesty and insights.
"I gave 18 years of my life solely to medicine, and then something happened. My partner died. I was in shock and couldn’t do anything for two days.
"What I eventually did though, was pick up a pen – and write a poem for him.
"And it was like that unleashed the floodgates. I wrote for about a year, poems to him," she says.
"Then one day, I was writing about other things. And then came the first love poem I wrote, that wasn’t for him, but was for my current partner.
"I believe very much that one thing leads to another, and with writing in particular that is the case. I’m still exploring fields, genres, formats – all the ways there are to express feelings, thoughts, ideas," she says.
She says her training in medicine has taught her to look at what’s beneath the surface, and that’s what she does in her writing.
"I’m curious about people and I let that show, and in their response to me, they give me insights into what’s really there, under all the surface stuff.
"What is really interesting is the disconnection that so many people feel, which has nothing to do with race or culture.
"Sometimes our isolation is what we actually share," she says.
Miss Liang has immersed herself in all aspects of play writing, a wide range of genres of artistic expression and collaborations and involvement in a dizzying variety of artistic groups from fringe festivals to Read Raw to Flip the Script, Smack Bang and other private collaborations.
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She says Lantern is at its heart, a play about family.
It involves two actors who play 10 characters over 85 minutes.
The actors are two of New Zealand’s best-known Chinese actors, Shortland Street’s Li-Ming Hu and Andy Wong from Ride with the Devil and No 2.
Audience members are invited to add their own poetry to a lantern installation in the foyer.
Lantern runs from Monday to June 13 at The Basement, lower Greys Ave, Auckland.
For ticket information go to www.the-edge.co.nz or call 357-3355.
Paediatrician's play all about the family
By KAREN KOTZE - East And Bays Courier
Last updated 05:00 05/06/2009
BUDDING SCIENTIST: Palmerston North student Jenny Wong
t was an extraordinary science trip for Palmerston North Girls' High School student Jenny Wong, 17, who was awarded a scholarship to the 2009 Professor Harry Messel International Science School.
Miss Wong, who plans to study medicine, spent two weeks in Sydney at the end of July learning at the School of Physics.
Only five scholarships were awarded to New Zealand students and 145 students attended the two-week-long trip.
Students were from all around the world including America and Japan.
Miss Wong said the trip was a great experience for her.
"I'm really into science. I know it is something I want to do. And I had never been to Australia."
Biology is her favourite science and although she went on a more physics-based trip everything she learnt can still be applied.
"Everyone is born being curious and science allows us to know more about life on earth and gives us a new and better approach to things."
Lectures were given by professors from Australia, someone from NASA and a French university lecturer.
One of the things Miss Wong liked the most about the experience was the people she got to meet and learn from.
"You definitely know that the people that are going are intelligent and work hard to get there. From some of the countries students had to take an exam."
Social activities were also included during the two weeks and Miss Wong was able to see the harbour bridge and the Opera House as well as attend the Beauty and the Geek disco.
Miss Wong received her $3000 scholarship through the Royal Society of New Zealand and was also given funds from her school.
By CAITLIN MADDEN - Manawatu Standard
Last updated 12:00 11/08/2009
Miss Wong, who plans to study medicine, spent two weeks in Sydney at the end of July learning at the School of Physics.
Only five scholarships were awarded to New Zealand students and 145 students attended the two-week-long trip.
Students were from all around the world including America and Japan.
Miss Wong said the trip was a great experience for her.
"I'm really into science. I know it is something I want to do. And I had never been to Australia."
Biology is her favourite science and although she went on a more physics-based trip everything she learnt can still be applied.
"Everyone is born being curious and science allows us to know more about life on earth and gives us a new and better approach to things."
Lectures were given by professors from Australia, someone from NASA and a French university lecturer.
One of the things Miss Wong liked the most about the experience was the people she got to meet and learn from.
"You definitely know that the people that are going are intelligent and work hard to get there. From some of the countries students had to take an exam."
Social activities were also included during the two weeks and Miss Wong was able to see the harbour bridge and the Opera House as well as attend the Beauty and the Geek disco.
Miss Wong received her $3000 scholarship through the Royal Society of New Zealand and was also given funds from her school.
By CAITLIN MADDEN - Manawatu Standard
Last updated 12:00 11/08/2009
Tony Wong-Kam. Fishing king lands more excitement
Fishing is far from peaceful for champion angler Tony Wong-Kam.
The newly crowned King of the Coromandel has often been in the headlines.
And he claims shots have been fired at him in the past by jealous rivals.
Even his latest success was marred by an incident which could have cost lives, he says.
"On the drive home from the Coromandel I had to stop six or seven times.
"The rig carrying my boat didn’t feel right, it weaved when I turned."
He says he found four bolts on his towbar were loose.
"On the motorway, that’s a life and death situation," he says.
Wong-Kam, 48, of Torbay says checks were carried out on his vehicle before the journey and he suspects that the fastenings were undone deliberately.
"A complaint has been made with the police," he says.
"I have a history with things like this, I’m a target."
With Mike Hiskens the pair dominated the annual King of the Coromandel competition bagging thousands of dollars in prizes in the process.
"Fish we caught on the first two days won first, second and third overall," says Wong-Kam.
"We didn’t go out on the third day to give someone else a chance."
Wong-Kam estimates a total prize haul, which included a new car, to be worth at least $30,000.
"We brought home two of the top three kingfish we caught. But the biggest one was stolen from the ice bins."
Excitement is never far from Wong-Kam. In December 2006 his face was slashed by a stingray while diving off Great Barrier Island and in March 2008 he claimed to be the first person to catch a manta ray in New Zealand waters.
Wong-Kam says he does not understand the negative attention and will remain undeterred from fishing
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/2382820/Fishing-king-lands-more-excitement
By SIMON PLUMB - North Shore Times
Last updated 05:00 05/05/2009
The newly crowned King of the Coromandel has often been in the headlines.
And he claims shots have been fired at him in the past by jealous rivals.
Even his latest success was marred by an incident which could have cost lives, he says.
"On the drive home from the Coromandel I had to stop six or seven times.
"The rig carrying my boat didn’t feel right, it weaved when I turned."
He says he found four bolts on his towbar were loose.
"On the motorway, that’s a life and death situation," he says.
Wong-Kam, 48, of Torbay says checks were carried out on his vehicle before the journey and he suspects that the fastenings were undone deliberately.
"A complaint has been made with the police," he says.
"I have a history with things like this, I’m a target."
With Mike Hiskens the pair dominated the annual King of the Coromandel competition bagging thousands of dollars in prizes in the process.
"Fish we caught on the first two days won first, second and third overall," says Wong-Kam.
"We didn’t go out on the third day to give someone else a chance."
Wong-Kam estimates a total prize haul, which included a new car, to be worth at least $30,000.
"We brought home two of the top three kingfish we caught. But the biggest one was stolen from the ice bins."
Excitement is never far from Wong-Kam. In December 2006 his face was slashed by a stingray while diving off Great Barrier Island and in March 2008 he claimed to be the first person to catch a manta ray in New Zealand waters.
Wong-Kam says he does not understand the negative attention and will remain undeterred from fishing
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/2382820/Fishing-king-lands-more-excitement
By SIMON PLUMB - North Shore Times
Last updated 05:00 05/05/2009
Raymond Wong Tong: Green grocer had a twinkle in his eye
Raymond Wong Tong had a passion for China, but always returned to Wellington, and will be remembered for his fondness for a chat.
Raymond Wong Tong was always sociable. He loved flirting with the ladies who came into the family fruit and vegetable shop in Cuba St and even after his retirement he readily chatted with people he met on his walks or bike rides around Miramar.
Always cheerful, polite, considerate and well dressed, he was able to converse fluently in English, Cantonese and the Mandarin he continued to study in his later years.
Mr Wong Tong was born at 259 Cuba St above the shop set up by his father who had come out to New Zealand in the 1800s to work the Otago goldfields.
The oldest of seven - six sisters and a brother - he went to Mt Cook School and Wellington Technical College. He attended the Anglican Chinese Mission Church in Frederick St and learnt to play the violin.
When he was 16 the family returned to China to ensure the children had a Chinese education.
Mr Wong Tong signed on as a radio telegrapher with the British- owned China Navigation Company and sailed on the company freighters which plied the coast, up the Yangtze River and as far south as Singapore.
During this time he was introduced to and fell in love with Betty Chang, a New Zealand-born girl who had been raised in China since the age of three.
"I fell in love with her lovely dimples immediately and when she smiled at me, I knew I had to have her," Mr Wong Tong once recounted, remembering courting her on the cosmopolitan pre-war Shanghai waterfront.
They married in 1935, and their honeymoon was their voyage back to New Zealand on the Union Company Ship Taniwha.
Back in Wellington he rejoined the family at their second shop - Wong Tong and Sons - at 168 Cuba St (this is still a greengrocer but was sold by the family more than 50 years ago).
The extended family lived on the second and third floor above the shop and everybody contributed to the business.
During the war, Mr Wong Tong served in the home guard and every Sunday would get dressed in his army uniform and head out for training at Lyall Bay, but fortunately his appalling marksmanship never had to be put to the test.
For a time during the war, when Japanese invasion was feared, the women and children were sent over to Carterton while the men manned the shop.
As the children grew up they helped out in the shop if they weren't at school, attending Chinese classes or taking music lessons.
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Mr Wong Tong and his brother Ivan would go to the markets in Allen St each weekday morning where he would concentrate on vegetables while Ivan's specialty was fruit and flowers.
The shop's supplies were supplemented by spring onions and radishes grown on a small family plot in Nairn St and later from the large garden behind the home Mr Wong Tong bought in Puriri St, Miramar.
When his father sold the business in 1953, Mr Wong Tong moved the family to Nelson and opened another fruit and vegetable shop in Trafalgar St.
He and his wife sold the shop in 1966 after all the children left home and began what was to be their retirement with a two-year overseas holiday taking in Hong Kong and the United States, before returning and settling again in Miramar.
But Mr Wong Tong was just 55 and started working again - an office job with Philips Electrical in Lyall Bay, where he stayed on for about 10 years before finally retiring after suffering a mild heart attack. In 1983 he travelled back to China for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Mr Wong Tong - who was brought up to support the Chinese nationalists - later accepted that his homeland had become a communist state and he accepted invitations to functions put on by the Taiwanese as well as the Chinese diplomatic representatives in Wellington.
He was a stalwart of the Fung Tung Association which his father had helped found, and the Chinese Anglican Mission.
His only extravagance was the odd flutter on the horses and mahjong with his pensioner friends where losing $5 was a big deal.
Mrs Wong Tong died in 2006 and he spent his last few years in a rest home. He is survived by his four children, eight grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
Raymond Wong Tong, green grocer: born Wellington, March 6, 1911; married Betty Chang 1935, 2 sons and 2 daughters; died Wellington, July 21, 2009, aged 98.
Sources. Ronald, Beverley, Mervyn and Fiona Wong.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/obituaries/2732503/Raymond-Wong-Tong-Green-grocer-had-a-twinkle-in-his-eye
Raymond Wong Tong was always sociable. He loved flirting with the ladies who came into the family fruit and vegetable shop in Cuba St and even after his retirement he readily chatted with people he met on his walks or bike rides around Miramar.
Always cheerful, polite, considerate and well dressed, he was able to converse fluently in English, Cantonese and the Mandarin he continued to study in his later years.
Mr Wong Tong was born at 259 Cuba St above the shop set up by his father who had come out to New Zealand in the 1800s to work the Otago goldfields.
The oldest of seven - six sisters and a brother - he went to Mt Cook School and Wellington Technical College. He attended the Anglican Chinese Mission Church in Frederick St and learnt to play the violin.
When he was 16 the family returned to China to ensure the children had a Chinese education.
Mr Wong Tong signed on as a radio telegrapher with the British- owned China Navigation Company and sailed on the company freighters which plied the coast, up the Yangtze River and as far south as Singapore.
During this time he was introduced to and fell in love with Betty Chang, a New Zealand-born girl who had been raised in China since the age of three.
"I fell in love with her lovely dimples immediately and when she smiled at me, I knew I had to have her," Mr Wong Tong once recounted, remembering courting her on the cosmopolitan pre-war Shanghai waterfront.
They married in 1935, and their honeymoon was their voyage back to New Zealand on the Union Company Ship Taniwha.
Back in Wellington he rejoined the family at their second shop - Wong Tong and Sons - at 168 Cuba St (this is still a greengrocer but was sold by the family more than 50 years ago).
The extended family lived on the second and third floor above the shop and everybody contributed to the business.
During the war, Mr Wong Tong served in the home guard and every Sunday would get dressed in his army uniform and head out for training at Lyall Bay, but fortunately his appalling marksmanship never had to be put to the test.
For a time during the war, when Japanese invasion was feared, the women and children were sent over to Carterton while the men manned the shop.
As the children grew up they helped out in the shop if they weren't at school, attending Chinese classes or taking music lessons.
Ad Feedback
Mr Wong Tong and his brother Ivan would go to the markets in Allen St each weekday morning where he would concentrate on vegetables while Ivan's specialty was fruit and flowers.
The shop's supplies were supplemented by spring onions and radishes grown on a small family plot in Nairn St and later from the large garden behind the home Mr Wong Tong bought in Puriri St, Miramar.
When his father sold the business in 1953, Mr Wong Tong moved the family to Nelson and opened another fruit and vegetable shop in Trafalgar St.
He and his wife sold the shop in 1966 after all the children left home and began what was to be their retirement with a two-year overseas holiday taking in Hong Kong and the United States, before returning and settling again in Miramar.
But Mr Wong Tong was just 55 and started working again - an office job with Philips Electrical in Lyall Bay, where he stayed on for about 10 years before finally retiring after suffering a mild heart attack. In 1983 he travelled back to China for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Mr Wong Tong - who was brought up to support the Chinese nationalists - later accepted that his homeland had become a communist state and he accepted invitations to functions put on by the Taiwanese as well as the Chinese diplomatic representatives in Wellington.
He was a stalwart of the Fung Tung Association which his father had helped found, and the Chinese Anglican Mission.
His only extravagance was the odd flutter on the horses and mahjong with his pensioner friends where losing $5 was a big deal.
Mrs Wong Tong died in 2006 and he spent his last few years in a rest home. He is survived by his four children, eight grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
Raymond Wong Tong, green grocer: born Wellington, March 6, 1911; married Betty Chang 1935, 2 sons and 2 daughters; died Wellington, July 21, 2009, aged 98.
Sources. Ronald, Beverley, Mervyn and Fiona Wong.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/obituaries/2732503/Raymond-Wong-Tong-Green-grocer-had-a-twinkle-in-his-eye
Festival light shines on patriarch
Percy Chew Lee has never shied away from a challenge.
The 96-year-old arrived with his family from China to an unfriendly welcome in New Zealand 88 years ago.
All Chinese arriving in the country then were subject to a hefty poll tax.
The 100 tax (the equivalent of nearly $8000 today) reflected the discriminatory attitude against Chinese arrivals, but Lee did not let it slow him down.
Yesterday, the Christchurch resident was checking preparations for this weekend's Chinese New Year lantern festival to welcome in the Year of the Rat, an event which reflects how far his adopted country has come.
"Ninety years ago the Europeans looked down on the Chinese," Lee said. "In those days you had to learn to fight for yourself to prove you could do as much as anyone."
Lee's colourful life certainly proves his point.
After becoming the first Chinese student in a European school in Christchurch, his list of achievements included becoming a South Island 80km cycling champion after training nearly 100km every day before breakfast.
He was the first Chinese person to take up competitive wrestling and became a South Island runner-up.
He also took up training racehorses, and won the Westport Cup two years running.
In the 1930s he was the first Chinese man to fly an aeroplane in Christchurch, although his father would not let him gain his licence.
But perhaps his proudest achievement was designing and building the large pagoda-style house where he lives with family in Cashmere.
From there he continues to sell vegetables from the family market garden. He gave up riding the tractor just last year.
Lee has nine children, 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
This year his services to the Chinese community were recognised with a Queen's Service Medal in the New Year Honours, and he is looking forward to going to Wellington -- where he arrived as an eight-year-old -- to collect the award.
Lee put his longevity down to no smoking or drinking, working hard and never saying he could not do it. "The main thing in life is you have to prove things for yourself, just like me. I had to learn," he said.
LANTERN FESTIVAL
Hundreds of lanterns will light up Victoria Square this weekend in celebration of the Year of the Rat. Thousands of people are expected to enjoy the evening entertainment with special performers from China and ethnic food stalls. The event starts at 4pm today and tomorrow, but dusk is the optimum time for lantern viewing.
The 96-year-old arrived with his family from China to an unfriendly welcome in New Zealand 88 years ago.
All Chinese arriving in the country then were subject to a hefty poll tax.
The 100 tax (the equivalent of nearly $8000 today) reflected the discriminatory attitude against Chinese arrivals, but Lee did not let it slow him down.
Yesterday, the Christchurch resident was checking preparations for this weekend's Chinese New Year lantern festival to welcome in the Year of the Rat, an event which reflects how far his adopted country has come.
"Ninety years ago the Europeans looked down on the Chinese," Lee said. "In those days you had to learn to fight for yourself to prove you could do as much as anyone."
Lee's colourful life certainly proves his point.
After becoming the first Chinese student in a European school in Christchurch, his list of achievements included becoming a South Island 80km cycling champion after training nearly 100km every day before breakfast.
He was the first Chinese person to take up competitive wrestling and became a South Island runner-up.
He also took up training racehorses, and won the Westport Cup two years running.
In the 1930s he was the first Chinese man to fly an aeroplane in Christchurch, although his father would not let him gain his licence.
But perhaps his proudest achievement was designing and building the large pagoda-style house where he lives with family in Cashmere.
From there he continues to sell vegetables from the family market garden. He gave up riding the tractor just last year.
Lee has nine children, 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
This year his services to the Chinese community were recognised with a Queen's Service Medal in the New Year Honours, and he is looking forward to going to Wellington -- where he arrived as an eight-year-old -- to collect the award.
Lee put his longevity down to no smoking or drinking, working hard and never saying he could not do it. "The main thing in life is you have to prove things for yourself, just like me. I had to learn," he said.
LANTERN FESTIVAL
Hundreds of lanterns will light up Victoria Square this weekend in celebration of the Year of the Rat. Thousands of people are expected to enjoy the evening entertainment with special performers from China and ethnic food stalls. The event starts at 4pm today and tomorrow, but dusk is the optimum time for lantern viewing.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Chinese Moon festival
Chinese Moon festival: 3 October
The Chinese Moon Festival, also known as the mid-autumn Festival, is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese. It is celebated in 2009 on 3 October. It is also celebrated by the Vietnamese, though they celebrate it differently.
There are many variations on the legendary stories around the moon festival. Legend says that Chang Er flew to the moon, where she has lived ever since. You might see her dancing on the moon during the Moon Festival. The Moon Festival is also an occasion for family reunions.
Moon cakes are often eaten at the festival. The Chinese eat the moon cake at night with the full moon in the sky. Lovers spend such a romatic night together tasting the delicious moon cake with some wine while watching the full moon. Even for a couple who can't be together, they can still enjoy the night by watching the moon at the same time so it seems that they are together at that hour.
The Chinese Moon Festival, also known as the mid-autumn Festival, is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese. It is celebated in 2009 on 3 October. It is also celebrated by the Vietnamese, though they celebrate it differently.
There are many variations on the legendary stories around the moon festival. Legend says that Chang Er flew to the moon, where she has lived ever since. You might see her dancing on the moon during the Moon Festival. The Moon Festival is also an occasion for family reunions.
Moon cakes are often eaten at the festival. The Chinese eat the moon cake at night with the full moon in the sky. Lovers spend such a romatic night together tasting the delicious moon cake with some wine while watching the full moon. Even for a couple who can't be together, they can still enjoy the night by watching the moon at the same time so it seems that they are together at that hour.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Supermarket change marks end of an era
4:00AM Tuesday Sep 22, 2009
By Beck Vass
The first Foodtown supermarket was opened by Tom Ah Chee in Great South Road, Otahuhu, in 1958. Photo / Supplied
* Grocer marks 50 years of ringing tills
The legacy of Foodtown - the small South Auckland supermarket that energised the grocery trade in Australasia - is set to become lost in a rebranding exercise that will see all Foodtown and Woolworths stores renamed as "new generation" Countdowns.
The first Foodtown, opened in Otahuhu by Tom Ah Chee on June 28, 1958, was the first American-style supermarket in New Zealand.
Mr Ah Chee's widow, Molly Ah Chee, could not be reached for comment yesterday but a family member said the rebranding marked the "end of an era".
The original Foodtown, owned by Mr Ah Chee and his friends Norman Kent, John Brown and Brian Picot, opened to so much excitement that traffic blocked the main road and the street was shut off. Radio announcers appealed to would-be customers to come back the next day, but that only attracted more interest.
The store, which also had the first automatic doors and air-conditioning, proved so popular that a second one was opened nearby in Takanini in 1961.
supermarket change marks end era retailing consumer information shopping history progressive enterprises legacy foodtown small south auckland energised grocery trade australasia set lost rebranding exercise see woolworths stores renamed generation
By last year, 50 years later, New Zealand had more than 30 Foodtowns.
When Foodtown first opened, supermarket trolleys were a new concept. Specials included a 6lb (2.7kg) bag of Chelsea sugar for the equivalent of 49c, an 11oz bottle of Watties tomato sauce for 27c and toilet rolls for 14c.
A large package of Weet-Bix was 31c, a 26oz can of spaghetti was 20c and Choysa teabags (8oz) were 33c.
Eggs came in paper bags and boys took customers' shopping to their cars.
By Beck Vass
The first Foodtown supermarket was opened by Tom Ah Chee in Great South Road, Otahuhu, in 1958. Photo / Supplied
* Grocer marks 50 years of ringing tills
The legacy of Foodtown - the small South Auckland supermarket that energised the grocery trade in Australasia - is set to become lost in a rebranding exercise that will see all Foodtown and Woolworths stores renamed as "new generation" Countdowns.
The first Foodtown, opened in Otahuhu by Tom Ah Chee on June 28, 1958, was the first American-style supermarket in New Zealand.
Mr Ah Chee's widow, Molly Ah Chee, could not be reached for comment yesterday but a family member said the rebranding marked the "end of an era".
The original Foodtown, owned by Mr Ah Chee and his friends Norman Kent, John Brown and Brian Picot, opened to so much excitement that traffic blocked the main road and the street was shut off. Radio announcers appealed to would-be customers to come back the next day, but that only attracted more interest.
The store, which also had the first automatic doors and air-conditioning, proved so popular that a second one was opened nearby in Takanini in 1961.
supermarket change marks end era retailing consumer information shopping history progressive enterprises legacy foodtown small south auckland energised grocery trade australasia set lost rebranding exercise see woolworths stores renamed generation
By last year, 50 years later, New Zealand had more than 30 Foodtowns.
When Foodtown first opened, supermarket trolleys were a new concept. Specials included a 6lb (2.7kg) bag of Chelsea sugar for the equivalent of 49c, an 11oz bottle of Watties tomato sauce for 27c and toilet rolls for 14c.
A large package of Weet-Bix was 31c, a 26oz can of spaghetti was 20c and Choysa teabags (8oz) were 33c.
Eggs came in paper bags and boys took customers' shopping to their cars.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Chinese reflect on colonial roots
Chinese reflect on colonial roots
4:00AM Friday Sep 18, 2009
By Bernard Orsman
David Wong (left) with Barry Wah Lee, whose grandfather opened a store around 1900. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Most Aucklanders associate the Wah Lee general store in Hobson St with fireworks for Guy Fawkes. What they probably don't realise is that the store is owned by one of the four founding Chinese families in Auckland.
Barry Wah Lee's grandfather opened the store in about 1900 at the old Chinatown in Grey's Ave, or Grey St as it was then known.
The area became home to boarding houses, opium dens and gambling houses.
Auckland's first and only Chinatown was replaced by multi-storey flats and later the Auckland City Council Civic Building, and Wah Lee's moved to Hobson St in 1966.
The history of the Chinese community in colonial Auckland is the subject of a talk tomorrow by a member of the Chinese community, David Wong, as part of the Auckland Heritage Festival.
The festival, the sixth held by the Auckland City Council, starts tonight with a display of historical images projected on to Shed 10 at Queens Wharf.
There will be a public viewing from behind the "Red Gates" on Quay St from 6.30pm.
The theme of this year's festival is living heritage and features more than 100 diverse and interactive events. They include an Auckland Heritage pub quiz night, cruises on the historic William C Daldy steam tug and a concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of the liberation by university students of Albert Park in 1969.
Mr Wong said the first Chinese arrived in Auckland from the Otago goldfields in the 1860s. Among them was Thomas Quoi who had a stall in the city markets behind where the Civic Theatre was later built.
Early Chinese settlers turned their hand to market gardening, among them Mr Wong's great-grandfather who named his area at Carlaw Park "the garden of prosperity".
The Chinese also opened laundry and fruit shops.
Mr Wong said the Chinese population throughout New Zealand in 1900 was about 3000, of which there were only eight or 10 women. Auckland's Chinese population was between 112 and 120.
Today, there are more than 130,000 Chinese in Auckland, of which about 25,000 were born in New Zealand.
Mr Wong will be giving two talks at the Auckland Art Gallery tomorrow - at 1pm in English and 3pm in Mandarin. Bookings can be made on 307-7700.
For more details on the festival, which runs until October 4, go to: www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/events
4:00AM Friday Sep 18, 2009
By Bernard Orsman
David Wong (left) with Barry Wah Lee, whose grandfather opened a store around 1900. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Most Aucklanders associate the Wah Lee general store in Hobson St with fireworks for Guy Fawkes. What they probably don't realise is that the store is owned by one of the four founding Chinese families in Auckland.
Barry Wah Lee's grandfather opened the store in about 1900 at the old Chinatown in Grey's Ave, or Grey St as it was then known.
The area became home to boarding houses, opium dens and gambling houses.
Auckland's first and only Chinatown was replaced by multi-storey flats and later the Auckland City Council Civic Building, and Wah Lee's moved to Hobson St in 1966.
The history of the Chinese community in colonial Auckland is the subject of a talk tomorrow by a member of the Chinese community, David Wong, as part of the Auckland Heritage Festival.
The festival, the sixth held by the Auckland City Council, starts tonight with a display of historical images projected on to Shed 10 at Queens Wharf.
There will be a public viewing from behind the "Red Gates" on Quay St from 6.30pm.
The theme of this year's festival is living heritage and features more than 100 diverse and interactive events. They include an Auckland Heritage pub quiz night, cruises on the historic William C Daldy steam tug and a concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of the liberation by university students of Albert Park in 1969.
Mr Wong said the first Chinese arrived in Auckland from the Otago goldfields in the 1860s. Among them was Thomas Quoi who had a stall in the city markets behind where the Civic Theatre was later built.
Early Chinese settlers turned their hand to market gardening, among them Mr Wong's great-grandfather who named his area at Carlaw Park "the garden of prosperity".
The Chinese also opened laundry and fruit shops.
Mr Wong said the Chinese population throughout New Zealand in 1900 was about 3000, of which there were only eight or 10 women. Auckland's Chinese population was between 112 and 120.
Today, there are more than 130,000 Chinese in Auckland, of which about 25,000 were born in New Zealand.
Mr Wong will be giving two talks at the Auckland Art Gallery tomorrow - at 1pm in English and 3pm in Mandarin. Bookings can be made on 307-7700.
For more details on the festival, which runs until October 4, go to: www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/events
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